Comments for iReason, M.D.

Comment on Is research important? by ireason

ireason — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 19:30:28 +0000

Thank you for the comment. I think you should go online and find some professors who are conducting research at the university you wish to transfer into. Read about their research, and contact a few of them and just say that you are interested in gaining experience, but don’t expect to get paid though. Also tell them you are thinking about transferring to the University. The least they can say is “no”, so it cannot hurt, and you may actually land yourself in a research opportunity. As long as you are proactive, people wanna help you out. Also, if you do start working with a researcher at the University, you can put that on your transfer application too! – it can only help your chances of gaining admission to the university. All signs point to go Best of luck!

Comment on Is research important? by vanessa

vanessa — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:58:03 +0000

Really great information and advice; I wanted to ask you if you have any suggestions on how to go about getting a research assistant position as an undergrad at community college. I would really love to get some experience in research, but Im not sure if I should wait until I transfer to university. What do you think?
Thanks

Comment on Sacrifices by Mayhem

Mayhem — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:51:50 +0000

#6 is the worst I think. When I started I was so sure I’d never become one of the brainwashed drones who couldn’t think about anything but medicine. That didn’t last.

Comment on The D.O. Degree by ireason

ireason — Fri, 23 May 2008 16:00:23 +0000

DOs spend about 2 credit hours per quarter in OMM lab. OMM is Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine. DOs are taught this additional technique which they can possibly use to diagnose and heal. This skill is a core principle of osteopathic medicine, and is tested on the licensing examination, the COMLEX. However, the key is that since the COMLEX has a slightly different depth of coverage in some of the basic sciences (when compared to the USMLE), the credit hours for those courses are adjusted accordingly in the DO curriculums (each school’s curriculum is structured to help you pass the test for the degree they offer). So, the time spent in class is roughly the same – maybe an credit hour or two here or there in class, but that time doesn’t significantly tie up your schedule.

Comment on The MD vs. DO War (Part II) by ireason

ireason — Fri, 23 May 2008 15:14:49 +0000

This is a good point. Here are my thoughts. DO students do have to study for two tests, but there is a lot of overlap between the tests – both grant medical degrees to graduates. However, you’re right, the COMLEX and USMLE do lean more toward a few subjects than the other, so it will take more work for a DO student to pass the USMLE with a high score. But, I would say that if you want an ACGME residency bad enough, you’ll find a way to go that extra mile and cover some more concepts in depth for the USMLE. Also remember that its only the first step in both licensing examinations that are the hardest. The step 2 and step 3 for both tests are clinical practice oriented, and the general rule of thumb for Step 1, 2, and 3, in order, is “two months, two weeks, two pencils”. This means that steps 2 and 3 shouldn’t really be much different because its based on the clinical experience you get.

As far as MDs getting more time to study when DOs are learning OMM, DO students have roughly 2 more credit hours in class per quarter (according to CCOM). I’m not sure if this time will put a significant damper on your studies in other areas. MD students do spend time in the clinic – there are few schools that offer early clinical exposure, but as MD students continue to reveal at my school, that experience hardly matters – what really does matter is the 3rd/4th year rotations. The early clinical exposure in many schools is not a requirement, but rather an option.

Now comparing MCATs, there’s a thread on SDN where you see many people post how they screwed up the MCATs and then ripped apart the USMLE. I’ll post it if I can find it. When you say that a DO student who scores 25 on the MCAT will never score as high on the USMLE as a MD student with a 32 MCAT, your underlying assumption is that both students studied as hard as they possibly could for the exam. However, we know that many students slack off. I myself am an example. I slacked and got a low score the first time, but I pushed myself enough and ended up scoring 7 points higher on the MCAT the second time around, within 6 months. Some students are completely happy with just meeting the average for the DO schools, and their goal is to get into a DO school. Others are not happy with their scores, but don’t wanna take the test again, and they apply to DO schools too. There can be many more reasons. But, once they start medical school, it’s like starting a fresh slate, because you can still learn the material well, work hard, and let it pay off on the USMLE or COMLEX. I understand that the licensing exams are standardized, but I sincerely believe that practice can make better.

Comment on The D.O. Degree by t

Fri, 23 May 2008 13:07:22 +0000

“DO’s actually have more training than MD’s.” How do DO’s manage to have more training than MD’s if they both graduate in 4 years? Are they in class longer in a given year? E.g. How do osteopathic schools fit more training in the same amount of time?

Comment on The MD vs. DO War (Part II) by medstudent

medstudent — Fri, 23 May 2008 07:44:47 +0000

hmmm, i see a problem in your argument in #5c. It will be more difficult to “rock the USMLE” for most DO students. The USMLE is a standardized exam (like the MCAT or SAT). Therefore, a DO student with a 25mcat (avg for many DO schools) will almost never score higher than an MD student who had a 32mcat (avg for many MD schools). Not to mention, DO students have to study for two tests, and cant concentrate as well on the MD boards. Also, while DO students were learning OMM, MD students were spending time in the clinic or studying micro. just some food for thought.